By Prashant Sood,
New Delhi : Fresh from its assembly polls successes, a confident BJP-led government is expected to push for the passage of key economic bills, including on the insurance sector, in the winter session of parliament beginning Monday.
But the depleted opposition has vowed to expose the “double speak” of the Bhratiya Janata Party and oppose the dilution of legislation passed by the previous Congress-led government.
The session is being held after Prime Minster Narendra Modi scripted a historic success for his party in Haryana and Maharashtra, boosting the confidence of a government that will soon complete six months in office.
The session, the first after the expansion of the council of ministers this month, will have 22 sittings and will end Dec 23.
The session will coincide with assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand. In both states, the BJP is confident of taking power or, in Kashmir, at least be a kingmaker.
The session will see a unity of sorts by the opposition after the Lok Sabha rout. The Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal-Secular have agreed to team up in parliament.
“There will be coordination among these parties,” JD-U’s K.C. Tyagi told IANS.
He said the government would find the going tough if it tried to pass the insurance amendment bill in the Rajya Sabha where it does not have a majority.
The bill, which seeks to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 49 percent from 26 percent now, is being examined by a select committee of the Rajya Sabha.
States have voiced concern on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill. Differences have also cropped up over government efforts to dilute MNREGA and the Land Acquisition bill.
Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said his party will expose the “double speak” of the BJP on the insurance and GST bills.
“When we pushed for their passage, the BJP created hurdles… If the bills had been passed, the country would have benefited,” he said.
The Congress also wants to raise the issue of black money stashed abroad by Indians and oppose moves to dilute the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGREGA) and the Land Acquisition Bill.
But the Congress is ready to support those steps of the government which it feels are in the interests of the people.
The Trinamool Congress is expected to toughen its stand against the government following the arrest of its Rajya Sabha MP Srinjoy Bose in the Saradha scam.
Officials said the government agenda for the session could include a bill to resolve problems related to ponzi schemes.
The government has promulgated two ordinances – the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014 and the Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2014.
Bills to replace both these ordinances would be brought during the session.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government was ready to discuss all issues with the opposition.
“We will work with the cooperation of the opposition parties,” Naqvi told IANS.
According to PRS Legislative Research, a research initiative which tracks the work of parliament, there are 67 bills pending before the house.
Of these, nine were introduced in the monsoon session of parliament, while 40 of these were introduced in the 15th Lok Sabha during the UPA II government. Eighteen bills are pending from earlier Lok Sabhas.
Shreya Singh of PRS Legislative Research said a number of bills lapsed at the end of the 15th Lok Sabha.
“These included the GST Bill, the Public Procurement Bill and the Citizen Charter Bill. It is now upto the new government to decide which of these lapsed Bills it wants to reintroduce in Parliament,” she said.
“The government also faces the task of building consensus around the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill, for which the select committee report is expected by the second week of December,” she added.
Starting with this session, the Rajya Sabha has decided to shift its Question Hour from 11 a.m. to noon, and has also extended its sitting time by an hour.
The government has an ambitious legislative agenda for the winter session with a slew of bills slated to be tabled. The following are some of the important bills expected to be taken up for passage.
* The Insurance (Laws) Amendment Bill, 2008: This bill raises the limit of foreign holding in insurance companies to 49 percent from the current 26 percent.
* Coal Mines Special Provision Bill, 2014: It outlines the procedure for auction of coal blocks that were cancelled by the Supreme Court in September 2014 and will replace the ordinance issued by the government.
* Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014: This allows the National Textile Corporation (NTC) to continue with the leasehold rights vested with it, even after the completion of the leasehold tenure. It will replace the ordinance on the subject.
* Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2014: This bill seeks to add new provisions to the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 to comply with the International Convention for the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships.
* School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014: The bill proposes to bring all three existing schools of planning and architecture under one law.
* The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2014: The proposed bill allows for termination of pregnancy for up to 24 weeks.
* The Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014: The bill aims to provide a framework for safer, faster, cost effective and inclusive movement of passengers and freight in the country.
* The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2013: This bill repeals the Mental Health Act, 1987 and seeks to give more rights to the mentally ill.
* The Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2013: The bill proposes changes in the regulation of the import, export, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs, cosmetics and medical devices and to ensure safety, efficacy, quality and conduct of clinical trials.
* The HIV (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014: It seeks to prevent and control the spread of HIV and AIDS and prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS.
* The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2014: The bill aims to ensure adequate safety measures and promote the health and welfare of the workers employed in factories.
* The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, 2012: The bill seeks to prohibit employment of children below 14 years of age in certain occupations such as automobile workshops, bidi-making, carpet weaving, handloom and powerloom industry, mines and domestic work.
* The Rights of Persons of Disabilities Bill, 2014: Besides enlarging the definition of disability, the bill states that persons with disabilities shall have the right to equality and shall not be discriminated against on grounds of their disability.
* The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014: It seeks to address children in the 16-18 age group, in conflict with law, as increasing incidents of crimes committed by them have been reported over the past few years.
* The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014: It seeks to regulate the training of apprentices in the industry.
* The Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2014: The bill seeks to prevent people from filing multiple claims against the railways for accidents and defines ‘accidental falling’ to exclude negligence on part of the passengers.
* The Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (Conditions of Service) Bill, 2014: It seeks to establish uniform conditions of service for the chairpersons and members of 26 tribunals and authorities.
* Goods and Services Tax Bill: This bill seeks to give concurrent taxing powers to both the centre and the states.